Tuesday, July 31, 2012

what cookie could possibly be more appropriate to make for summer than an ice cream sandwich? this is actually the first time I have ever attempted to make them. they sound a bit intimidating, but in reality they are so easy. and the best part is that you can make them ahead of time & wrap them in pretty parchment paper with some bakers twine & store in your freeze until you're ready to serve. I used this recipe and sandwiched the cookies between mint chocolate chip ice cream & coffee ice cream (I also addd some chocolate shavings to the sides for a little crunch). I couldn't make up my mind which flavor I liked best, so I just kept eating more of each. I still can't decide.... might need to make another batch this weekend!

Saturday, July 28, 2012

robert & I got hooked on (or should I say, addicted to) breaking bad really late in the game (why hadn't anyone told me about this show before?!). we started watching them early this year on netflix & got through all 46 episodes in an embarrassingly short amount of time. we then spent the rest of the year anxiously waiting season five to make its debut on tv. so when the time finally rolled around, we figured we should celebrate in a big way. luckily, there are a few other nerds out there like ourselves who got dressed up for the occasion too. plus blue meth (rock candy), wads of (fake) cash and a delicious dinner catered by none other than los pollos hermanos, "yo."

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I picked up these pretty white milk glass cups for a couple dollars a few weeks ago at an estate sale. for now I've been displaying them around the house by filling them with flowers from the neglected hydrangea plant in the backyard (neglected = I didn't even realize we had one).

Monday, July 16, 2012

it looks like it's already that time of year where the stores start bringing out their "back to school" supplies. what a bummer for kids on their summer vacation. but I have to say, there will always be a special place in my heart for dorm room goodies.

I remember so vividly the day when my mom took me shopping for my first dorm room. we went to target & their color scheme that year was bright coral & lime green. we got the cutest stuff - plastic plates & melamine bowls, a polka dotted twin comforter, even bright colored plastic ball-lights for "decoration." when we got home with all the "essentials," my dad was floored with the amount of cutesy purchases & reminded us of how he & his roommates proudly made their coffee table out cinder blocks & a piece of plywood ("that was all you needed back then"). men!

to this day I still get a bit overly excited when I see the dorm room stuff make its first appearance at target. and the dorm room line happens to be adorable this year. I picked up this little camera tray for loose change as well as the geo bowl for fruit, but had a hard time resisting the rest (because as always, I really only went in for milk!).

Sunday, July 15, 2012

last weekend, my grandfather, "pop", passed away at his favorite place in the world, our family's lakehouse, which he built himself the year I was born. while my family & I are all devastated that such an incredible man is no longer with us on this earth, we also feel extremely relieved knowing that he has gone to spend eternity in heaven. we feel blessed that we got to spend so many wonderful years with him. pop lived in town (with his wonderful wife, "grammie") so we were all very close with him. the stories & memories have kept us laughing for days.

I was the oldest grandchild, so I decided to speak at pop's service & share some stories on behalf of the other grandkids. needless to say, there were lots of laughs and I have no doubt that is exactly how pop would have wanted his funeral to have been: a celebration of his life.

in 2005, pop wrote, "I want to be remembered as a simple person who loved his family deeply; one who tried to see the best in everyone; a person who strived for patience and understanding." and without a doubt, that is exactly how everyone who knew pop will remember him. he was genuine, open-minded, creative, humble, kind and led an authentic life, which he built upon his faith.

I made a photo slideshow that ended up being 20 minutes (it could easily have been a hour if I had more time). robert helped me pick out the music for it & one song we used was "a well respected man" by the kinks. such a perfect song to depict the life of someone so well-loved by everyone he encountered.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

with a baby shower about every month, I've been trying to be somewhat thrifty with the gift-giving. I like to buy something off the registry & then thrown in something handmade (which I think people usually appreciate more than anything). I had all this extra vinyl fabric left from the vintage folding chair makeover that I did last summer. I was looking on pinterest for something to make & I came across this tutorial for making a baby bib on the you frill me blog. the directions were simple enough that I gave it a shot (minus the pocket on the front). it turned out super cute & also happened to match the bicycle shower theme as well!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

"there is a sign-up sheet on my desk for anyone who would like to contribute food for the surprise baby shower.""please bring an item for the (required) breakfast meeting potluck. we will have (required) fun!""would you like to volunteer to bring something for the birthday celebration?""you bring the food, we'll provide the drinks"

if any of these comments sound familiar to you, then you're in luck. thanks to pinterest, I discovered this easy, cute, make-ahead food that is perfect for any event that you don't want to put a whole ton of effort into. I got the idea for these donut fruitskewers from the val so cal blog. instinctively you may be duped into thinking these are only a breakfast item, but trust me- I've made them for other-time-of-day occasions & they are always appropriate. and you get the fruit in there, so they are really healthy, right? right? strawberries, blueberries & raspberries were in season, so that's what I used for the fruit. and the donuts are just store-bought entenmann's ("the display case at the end of the aisle" for you seinfeld fans out there). happy breakfast (or lunch. or snack. or dessert). and happy 4th of july today!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

my second "inspired by pinterest" craft is this pom pom name pennant, found on kojo designs blog. I was asked to make some shower decorations for my sweet friend's baby shower last month, so I thought I'd put a little extra time & effort into something that could then be used in the nursery as a more permanent decoration. this project was much more time intensive than the rest of the pinterest projects I'll be featuring, but it was definitely worth it.

I bought some yarn, one of these pom pom makers, put on some downton abbey & went to town. making these cute little poms got kind of addictive. the only thing I did differently from the tutorial (found here) was that I used duck tape over the wire in order to help hold the shape of the letter (the wire itself wasn't staying in place for me). after that, just glue-gun all 80 poms down & you've got yourself some pretty adorable bunting (thanks heather for choosing a name with just 4 letters. I don't think I had the strength for "magnolia").

Monday, July 2, 2012

pinning things on pinterest makes you feel like you're really doing something, am I right? you feel a little rush of accomplishment for finding an awesome idea & adding it to your board. but in reality, the motivation usually ends there. you rarely ever really do anything with these brilliant ideas ("not that there's anything wrong with that").

I have probably completed a mere 1% of the bajillion projects & recipes that I have pinned. I thought I would share those few projects this week, in case you missed them on pinterest.

the first project are these simple little hair clips for baby, from make it and love it. they are easy to make a require only a few things: some felt, hair clips, a needle + thread & a glue gun. download the template here & make your own. they're so adorable that I seriously considered making a set for myself.